Blue Raiders Fall at Fresno, 6-1

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Fresno State won the doubles point and five of the singles matches, as the 74th-ranked Bulldogs defeated No. 38 Middle Tennessee, 6-1, late Wednesday at the Wathan Tennis Center in Fresno, Calif.

It was the third straight loss for the Blue Raiders (6-5) and first defeat this season that was not by a 4-3 score.

Fresno State jumped out to an early lead, winning the first two completed doubles matches.

Charles Irie and Rudolf Siwy defeated Brandon Allan and Kai Schledorn, 8-5, at No. 2, and Jakub Cech and Sam Tadevosian won 8-6 at No. 3 over Greg Pollack and Morgan Richard for a 1-0 FSU lead.

The final doubles tilt was a big upset, with third-ranked Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom losing for the first time this year, 9-8 (2), to FSU's Sam Gibbs and Sergiu Modoc.

In singles the Bulldogs won four three-set decisions, including a pair of wins in third-set tiebreakers.

Modoc gave FSU a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-2, triumph over Born at No. 2, and Irie made it 3-0 with a 6-4, 0-6, 7-5, win at No. 4 over Allan. The Bulldogs sealed the victory with Tadevosian's 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, decision at No. 5 over Pollack.

Schledorn was the only Blue Raider to pick up a victory, defeating Siwy, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, at No. 3.

FSU's Jordi Ballester won 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (3), at No. 6 over Rishan Kuruppu, and 74th-ranked Cech defeated No. 47 Siljestrom at No. 1, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).

"The guys fought hard and I was proud of their efforts. If we can keep the right frame of mind and keep working, we will begin to turn the corner," head coach Dale Short said. "We lost four out of five three-set singles matches and they all came down to the wire and we just came up short.

"[Fresno State] was as good as any team we have played, at least [Wednesday] night and I have to give them credit. They scouted us well and were able to exploit some of our weaknesses."

The Blue Raiders take on 23rd-ranked San Diego in Fresno, Calif., Friday at 2 p.m. CT.

#74 Fresno State 6, #38 Middle Tennessee 1
SINGLES
1. (74) Jakub Cech (FSU) def. (47) Andreas Siljestrom (MT), 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6)
2. Sergiu Modoc (FSU) def. Marco Born (MT), 6-4, 6-2
3. Kai Schledorn (MT) def. Rudolf Siwy (FSU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-3
4. Charles Irie (FSU) def. Brandon Allan (MT), 6-4, 0-6, 7-5
5. Sam Tadevosian (FSU) def. Greg Pollack (MT), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
6. Jordi Ballester (FSU) def. Rishan Kuruppu (MT), 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (3)
Order of completion: 2,4,5,3,6,1

DOUBLES
1. Gibbs-Modoc (FSU) def. (3) Born-Siljestrom (MT), 9-8 (2)
2. Irie-Siwy (FSU) def. Allan-Schledorn (MT), 8-5
3. Cech-Tadevosian (FSU) def. Pollack-Morgan Richard (MT), 8-6
Order of completion: 2,3,1

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